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Ian Rush
Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a retired Welsh football striker who played for Liverpool for most of his career. He played for Liverpool in two spells, the first from 1980 to 1987, and the second from 1988-1996. During his time at Liverpool he established himself as the club's most prolific goalscorer, scoring 346 goals in 660 appearances. Liverpool career Rush became a Liverpool player at the age of 19 on 1 May 1980, signing from Chester for £300,000. His competitive debut came on 13 December 1980 in a league fixture against Ipswich Town. During his debut season Liverpool won their third European championship. Because of Liverpool's policy of buying young talent and placing them in the reserves, Rush was used very sparingly in his first season. This period proved difficult for Rush to get used to, and he almost left to find first team football elsewhere, but ultimately stayed to fight for a place on the first team. Rush's first goal did not come until the following season on 30 September 1981 against Oulun Palloseura in a European Cup match. His first league goals came against Leeds United on 10 October 1981 in the 3-0 win. Rush scored his first hat trick against Notts County on 26 January 1982 in a 4-0 away league win. He ended the 1981-82 season as the teams top scorer with 30 goals in 49 appearances. Although going in to the second half of the season in 10th place, Rush helped Liverpool raise their 13th league title. He also scored one of the goals that helped the club win their second League Cup against Tottenham. The 1982-83 season proved another successful season for both Rush and Liverpool. Rush, partnered with Kenny Dalglish up front, helped lead Liverpool to another league and League Cup double. During this season he scored 24 goals. During the Merseyside Derby on 6 November 1982, Rush scored 4 goals in the 5-0 win. Rush was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year. The next season Liverpool and Rush continued to look unstoppable. Rushed helped the club win their third successive league title and League Cup and completed the treble; by winning Liverpool's 4th European cup. Rush scored 47 goals in the 1983-84 season which would be the most he would ever score in his career. He won the PFA Player of the Year award just one year after he won the young player award. The 1984-85 season proved to be a difficult one for Rush. It was Liverpool's first season without a trophy in 10 years. In 1985-86 Rush again helped Liverpool win the league Championship, scoring 33 goals in 56 appearances. The next season was a more successful scoring season for Rush; where he netted 33 goals in 56 appearances. Although the league title evaded Liverpool that season, Rush helped them lift their third FA Cup; which Liverpool had not won in 12 years. After the 1984-85 season Rush found himself partnered with Paul Walsh more often due to Dalglish being promoted to player-manager and not selecting himself as often. This proved to work because Rush helped the side led by Dalglish secure their 16th first division title in the 1985-86 season by scoring 22 goals in 40 games. Rush signed for Juventus on 2 July 1986 although would spend the 1986-87 season playing for Liverpool on loan. He revealed in an interview with lfchistory.net that Man Utd manager had approached him about a possible transfer, but Rush said "I would never play for Everton or Man Utd." During his loan period with Liverpool they shared the Charity Shield but failed to win any other trophies despite Rush scoring 40 goals in 57 appearances, the second most in his career. After just a year at Juventus, Rush signed back to Liverpool for £2,800,000. Since his departure Rush had serious competition for his position, with the acquisitions of Peter Beardsley and John Aldridge. Although not appearing much in the first part of the season, Rush scored in the 1989 FA Cup Final win over Everton which Liverpool won 3-2. The next season Rush found his form again scoring 26 times in 48 appearances, helping Liverpool lift their 18th - and most recent - first division title. The next season Rush had an identical season, scoring as many goals in as many appearances as the last. In 1992 Rush earned himself another FA Cup winners medal ousting Sunderland in a 2-0 win, scoring one of the goals himself. The first year of the Premier League proved a difficult one for both Rush and Liverpool. The club languished in the middle of the table all season while Rush himself dropped out of the starting 11, with manager Graeme Souness preferring to start other striking options. Rush still managed to score goals in his closing seasons finishing as Liverpool's top scorer in 1993 and 1994. He earned his final trophy as a Liverpool player in the 1995 League Cup Final, which was the fifth time he won it. Due to the signings of youngsters, Rush announced he would be leaving Liverpool on free transfer when his contract expired on 1 June 1996. His final game for the reds came as a substitute appearance against Manchester United in the 1-0 deafeat in the FA cup final. He was subsequently signed by Leeds. Honours Liverpool *First Division: 5 (1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1989-90) *FA Cup: 3 (1986, 1989, 1992) *League Cup: 5 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995) *Charity Shield: 3 (1982, 1986, 1990) *European Cup: 2 (1981, 1984) Personal *PFA Young Player of the Year: 1983 *PFA Players' Player of the Year: 1984 *FWA Footballer of the Year: 1984 *European Golden Boot: 1984 *First Division top goalscorer: 1984 *Liverpool top goalscorer: 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 *Member of the Liverpool F.C. Hall of Fame *No. 3 on 100 Players Who Shook The Kop (2006) *No. 3 on 100 Players Who Shook The Kop (2013) Stats External links Rush Rush Rush